What Doesn't Kill You
by sunsetsandsilhouettedreams17
Summary: What doesn't kill you is supposed to make you stronger, right? But for Arielle, that's debatable. But as she begins to discover more about who she really is, will she find her inner strength when she needs it? Or will she be too weak? OC x OC with some Percabeth in it. All characters from PJATO. Set in the summer of the war. PLEASE READ NOT AS AWFUL AS IT SOUNDS. I hope, at least.
1. Goode High

**Hey guys! I hope you enjoy my story :)**

**I do not own any characters from PJATO. This is slightly before/during the last olympian. No roman camp.**

**Read and review?**

You never really can tell which days totally define your life. Some of them are prominent, and you know that nothing will ever be the same. Others are less obvious, camoflauged between normal days. I didn't know that that day in May was going to change everything.

So there I was, sitting down in my desk and running my fingers through my hair while waiting for the bell to ring. It was a perfectly average day at Goode High. Mr. Blofis was handing us copies of the Odyssey, which we were starting today. With a dull thwacking sound, the huge book hit my desk.

So I guess by now I should mention my name. Hi. My name is Arielle Calder. And to be honest, I haven't really been here long enough to know what an average day at Goode was. I just started last week. I came all the way from Narragansett, deciding that I needed to start over. Here I bought the cheapest one room apartment in Manhattan I could find from some sketchy lady on the street. And I've been living off of my mother's credit card (which I knew she wouldn't miss for possibly the next 20 years) and my new job at the candy store in Grand Central ever since.

While we were beginning the story, the silence was interrupted by the creak of a door. I didn't recognize the boy that walked in, nervously scratching the back of his head, but that didn't really mean a lot: I didn't know a lot of people at Goode yet, even though it was a relatively small school for New York. He handed Mr. Blofis a pass.

"Good morning, sir. I'm sorry I'm late, but I had to get my schedule from the main office. My name is Conor," he said in a soft, musical voice. So he was new too.

"No problem. My name is Mr. Blofis, I'm your new English teacher. Just take a seat anywhere." As Conor came nearer, I took in his appearance. He wore simple t-shirt with some jeans. His brown hair was tousled haphazardly like those people in Hollywood who spent hours having it done at some fance salon, but it looked natural. His blue eyes shone out of his pale face. He smiled at me, his lips chap and pale from the cold weather.

"Is anybody sitting here?" He asked in a musical voice. I shook my head.

"Take a seat," I gestured. He sat down next to me and immediately my mind started to whir around. Come on, I thought to myself. Don't overthink it. Of course he sat next to you. All of the other seats were taken. Mr. Blofis started talking, and I wanted to pay attention, I really did. But I found myself zoning out and just doing the reading that I knew he would assign us for homework and taking annotations. As I was writing down my last sentence for annotations, a piece of paper neatly fell on my desk. I looked around: the new kid seemed a bit too interested in his book, but he couldn't fool me: I noticed the corner of his lip slightly going up. I opened up the note discreetly.

Hey. I'm Conor. I sighed and, stifling a grin, wrote in response.

Ari. I then quickly passed it to his desk.

Cool, he wrote in hasty handwriting. His handwriting was sloppy, yet neat. We kept passing notes until the end of class.

What do you have next, he wrote two minutes before the bell rang.

Ancient Greek, I quickly wrote back.

Would you mind if I walked with you? I have no idea where to go. Perks of being a new kid, I guess.

Sure, but I just started last week. I'm still figuring this place out. He chuckled slightly. The bell rang. I picked up my bag and looked over at Conor. He was just as quick as I was, fluidly throwing his backpack over one shoulder. He flashed me a smile.

"We have to be quick if we want to be there on time," I said. "It's on the other side of the school."

"Okay then," he replied. We walked out of the classroom.

"So where are you from?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Oh, I've always lived in the city," he said. "But I've been kicked out of a couple schools. I'm a 'magnet for trouble,'" he made air quotation marks. I raised one eyebrow. "Hey, I can't help it if I'm a special kid," he jokingly said. I laughed, and he chuckled a bit with me. "So you just started here too, right? So what's your story?"

"Um…" I hesitated. "I came from Narragansett in Rhode Island." I said curtly.

"Rhode Island?" He said. "That must've been cool."

"It was," I said truthfully. And I meant it. There was a moment of awkward silence. "But living in the city is awesomer. Do you like it here?" He sighed.

"Yeah, I love New York," he replied. "But it's been a while since I've been here. The last time I was here was 6 years ago." He sighed.

"Wow. What made you leave for so long?" I asked curiously.

"Uhmm… It's complicated." He looked down at the ground.

"It's okay. Trust me, I understand complicated." I replied. He smiled at me.

"So Mr. Blowfish seems okay." I burst into laughter quickly, then stopped at the looks I was getting from the people around me.

"His name isn't Blowfish. It's Blofis. No h." I said, trying to control myself.

"Really? Well I gotta say that blowfish seems to suit him better," he replied, and cracked a smile. He snatched my binder all of a sudden. I was about to protest and demand it back when he said, "relax. I just wanted to check your classes. I guess I'm your stalker: we have each period together." My heart soared despite protests from my mind.

"Really?" I said. "My apartment's on the fifth floor, so it would be difficult, just so you know." He punched my shoulder lightly. "Hey!" I protested.

"You could be a bit more happy. I am pretty awesome," he said conceitedly. "And I mean, you get to hang out with this all day." He gestured to his body. But I could hear the slight sound of sarcasm in his voice. I punched him harder in the shoulder.

"Ow," he said, clutching his arm and laughing a bit. I was about to respond to his remark when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist.

"Hello, sugar." A strange voice hissed in my ear. "What do you say to coming over my place later? I'm sure we could have a lot of fun-" his hands tightened around my waist-"together." I grabbed Landon's arms and twisted them around, listening as he gasped in pain and said, "bitch". Then I heard a thwack, and Landon was cradling his face.

"Asshole," Conor muttered in the complete silence. "You okay?" Blue eyes met mine. I nodded. But inside my heart was racing. This wasn't the first time that this had happened to me, but it still brought back memories: he wore the same cologne as my stepdad.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine. Let's just go to class before a teacher comes and suspends us for violence," I said. Before he could protest, I grabbed his hand and we weaved through the throngs of people still struggling to process what the hell just happened.

We arrived just outside of class, with about a minute left before the bell rang. I was surprised: we were early. I stopped before the door, sighing. I didn't know how to phrase what I was about to say.

"look, Conor. It was nice of you to stick up for me back there and everything, but I don't want to get you in trouble or anything." I hesitated. "You just started here and-"

"You're welcome," he said, and chuckling, walked into the classroom. Flustered, I followed him in as the bell rang, not ignoring the light yet lingering scent of axe and sunshine. It was a weird combination, but I decided I liked it.

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to review X**


	2. Chapter 2

At the end of the day, I literally grabbed my bag and sprinted as fast as I could to catch the subway down to Grand Central, saying a quick goodbye to Conor and leaving him sputtering as I ran out the door. As I went down the streets, all I could think of was the blue eyes that burned holes through my back as I left C 21. Once I arrived at Grand Central, I quickly went to the bathroom and changed into my red white and blue outfit. I ran into Sweet on America just in time for my shift. I smiled at Sally, who was my boss.

She smiled at me and asked me how my day was. Sally was really nice: I still can't believe that she gave me this job. She told me that I looked like her son and that I had integrity. And I really did not want to make her regret hiring me by being late.

"So how are you liking New York so far?" she asked me.

"Well," I said as I absentmindedly restocked the shelves. "I love it. I haven't really had enough time to see anything, but I love the atmosphere. It makes you want to work harder." She laughed.

"Sweetie, you're going to run yourself to the ground with that mentality. Relax. I'm sure your parents don't like you running around the city." I dropped the packages of taffy I was stacking.

"They don't care," I muttered. And it was true: my mom was in Narragansett doing god know what with her inheritance money and my father, well my father was out of the picture. My mom was probably too drunk to ever find out his name. The stepdad… I don't even want to go there.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude-" she said.

"It's fine, don't worry about it Miss Sally."

"Just Sally is fine, dear." She said kindly. After a couple minutes of companionable silence, she began to pack her things. "Well, my shift is over. Will you be okay operating the shop yourself?" She asked me. I nodded.

"I'll be fine. I can take care of myself," I replied. She stopped in front of me.

"You're so much like Percy," she said. "Next time he comes from school I have to introduce you two." I smiled. Percy was Sally's son: he and her were really close. I wished I had a mom like that, I thought enviously Then, I don't know what came over me. I threw my arms around her in a big hug. She's been my most supporting figure here. And for that I was so grateful. She immediately responded by pulling me in closer.

"Thank you Miss Sally," I said. She patted my cheek clumsily, smiling.

"It's nothing, sweetie." She replied. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I nodded. And she left me alone with the saltwater taffy and the lingering smell flowery perfume.

Since the amount of customers decreased. , I quickly finished and closed the place up. I put the key in the shared locker of Sweet on America. I took all of the tips I got and took the subway to the upper east side, snagging some of my favorite blue raspberry rings on the way out.

I went to my rented walkup and plopped down on my ancient foldout couch/bed. The lady who lived here (apparently she graduated NYU and wanted an upgrade) gave me a really cheap price for the apartment, which I loved. It was just a studio size, but it was all I needed. The lady graduated in marine bio with a minor in photography, so naturally she had life size murals posted around the whole room. They were all ocean themed, so it made me feel sorta at home. The room even smelled like the sea: maybe she had some weird perfume thing. Whatever it was, I liked it. After changing into my paper thin pajama pants and taking a quick shower (I tried to use as little water as possible), I passed out on the bed, grateful that I did all my homework during lunch.

The days raced by, and soon April was fading into May. My SAT scores came back: straight 790's. My heart soared: with these scores, I could probably get into any school I wanted. But it wasn't just the possibilities of school that made my heartbeat escalate: it was Conor.

There was a day when I didn't get enough tips for a ticket on the subway. I was texting Conor, just ranting to him, on the walk home. He showed up out of nowhere at the east 47th and Lexington intersection to walk me home. He did his homework with me in the Library, and he told me about his dyslexia. I sympathized with him: I had dyslexia and ADHD as a kid. But I somehow grew out of it when I got into high school.

Everything was perfect. Which was what got me off guard. Nothing was perfect. Ever. And that was when the nightmares began again.

I was curled up in fetal position in the corner of my old living room. I was shielding my face with my arms. I looked at them: they were black and blue, and cuts crisscrossed all over my skin. I touched my forehead and felt a warm liquid on my fingers. I brought my hand down to my eyesight. My fingers glimmered with my own blood. A single tear fell down my cheek.

"How dare you cry!" A voice screamed at me. "You don't deserve to exist, you ungrateful, good-for-nothing child! You're too weak! You deserve nothing." I felt the ground tremor as the man walked away. Then I heard something hit the wall behind me. I once again ducked my head. When I opened my eyes again, hundreds of shards of glass twinkled all around me. I looked at my reflection in one of them. My face was all swollen and black. I could barely recognize myself. I woke up in a cold sweat, screaming hysterically.

The day after the nightmare, I tried my best to put myself together again. But everytime I looked at my arm, or my reflection in the mirror, all I could think of was how weak I was. So I did what I did best: I avoided the pain.

I ran everyday in the night after my shift. I did chin-ups in the apartment. Slowly but surely, I felt myself get stronger. But all of that strength vanished as soon as my eyes closed and I succumbed to the darkness that was sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys! So, if you're reading this, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I hope you liked it so far :) You know what would be even more awesome than you just reading it? If you could review? That would be AMAZING. So do it? Please?**

Days flew by. Soon enough, it was the end of the school year. The heat of June immersed me in warmth: I loved summer: it reminded me of those days I'd spend solely on the sandy beach. Those were the only things I ever missed about Narrangessett.

"Damn," I muttered as a little kid ran past me and all of the previously candy-filled boxes that were precariously stacked scattered across the floor. I fell to the ground and tried to pick them up again. Sally came to my rescue as well.

"I told you that June was one of our busiest months," she said.

"It would be fine if it wasn't for these little kids knocking over everything." She chuckled.

"Well, they're just kids," she replied. "They'll grow up soon enough." She paused for a minute and cleared her throat. "So, I was wondering if you were free on Friday. I wanted to have a little dinner. My son and his friend Annabeth will be there."

"I wouldn't want to intrude, Miss Sally," I said uneasily.

"Nonsense! It will be fun!" She promised me. "My treat." I hesitated: she was always talking about how much I looked like him. Maybe we could- nah, that's impossible. But still-

"I'll be there," I decided. She smiled widely, the happiness apparent in her eyes.

"Wonderful! The apartment complex is 17th East 79th, between 1st and 2nd. Come at 7:00, okay?" I nodded. She patted my cheek fondly and said, "I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow!" And she left me with a vast group of pudgy kids running around everywhere and creating chaos.

After a couple hours and numerous moms apologizing for their kid's behavior, I closed down the candy shop and walked through Grand Central, contemplating if I could walk home. Deciding to walk home and save up my tip money, I walked through the light-flooded streets. A voice sang from the steps of an apartment building.

"the first to take it all the way like this. yeah, If you only knew, I wanna be last, yeah, baby let me be your last-"I looked around for the source of the voice. I nearly laughed out loud at who it was. Conor was sitting on the steps of an apartment building, gently strumming a guitar.

"Conor?" I said. He looked up, shocked, and then his face broke out in a smile.

"Hey, Ari," he said. I sat down next to him, affectionately bumping his shoulder. Nobody else called me Ari: it was only him.

"I didn't know that you played guitar. Or sang. Or had any musical ability, really," I said bluntly. He chuckled.

"I don't really like to show off," he confessed. I noticed he was red. "Singing is something I do for myself."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that you're a thousand times better than any popular artist right now," I said. "Your voice is amazing." He smiled shyly. I gestured to the building. "So you live here?"

"Yeah," he replied. "With my - uh- half brother." I nodded. "I would invite you in, but it's kinda a mess." I laughed.

"I get it," I replied. "Bachelor pads are notoriously messy. Or at least that's what I heard."

"You always do," he said cheekily. I laughed. "So the last day of school's tomorrow." I sighed.

"Yep," I said. "It's crazy, right? Next year we're seniors."

"You know, I've never stayed at one school for more than two months," he confessed. "I always managed to get in a crapload of trouble and get expelled."

"Well that didn't happen this year."

"Yet," he grinned. "We need to celebrate," he declared suddenly. "How about we go to Times Square after school? We can spend the day there, it'll be fun."

"As much as I'd love to, I have to take a raincheck. I'm going over my boss' house tomorrow for dinner." He squiggled his eyebrow suggestively. "Nonono," I said, turning red. "_She's_ inviting me over. She's really nice, so why not?" I shrugged. "But maybe Saturday?" He nodded.

"Yeah, but then it has to be a full NYC excursion," he said. "Rockefeller, Empire State Building, the works."

"That would be nice," I agreed. "You know, I've been living here for more than four months and I still haven't been anywhere except for the upper east side, grand central, and central park. Oh, and I've walked through times square once. But I haven't really been able to have the 'New York experience.'" I made air quotations. He gaped at me.

"You poor, deprived child," he said seriously. "You have no idea what you've been missing out on." I looked at my watch.

"Well, I have to go now if this poor, depraved child plans on being home before 10:00," I said. I gave him a quick hug and then started jogging away. "Bye!"

"Text me when you get home!" He yelled after me.

"You know I always do," I replied back, smiling slightly to myself.

**Please review? Thanks for reading X**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! So, review, maybe? **

I looked at my reflection in the mirror quickly. I was about to go to Sally's apartment for dinner. My black hair was put into a messy but nice-looking fishtail, and my green eyes looked a bit blue in the light. I loved my eye color: it was the only thing about myself that I liked. They changed color from bright sea green to a murky-aqua color. They reminded me of the ocean. I had my favorite mermaid at 3 tank top and a pair of AE jean shorts I got from the clearance section. After all, it was one of those days that were a bajillion degrees even with air conditioning. I grabbed my ancient leather bucket bag and, putting my old converse on, left the apartment.

About fifteen minutes later, I found myself outside of Sally's door. I rang the doorbell once. I twirled my fishtail nervously. The door came open. I gasped at the figure.

The boy was about my age. And he was basically the male version of me. He had the same skin tone, hair color, even eye color. He stared at me, equally freaked out. I cleared my throat.

"Ummm…" I said awkwardly. Then I stuck out my hand. "I'm Arielle." He stuttered.

"Wh-wh-wha?" He was clearly a bit slow. I smirked a tiny bit. Then a tan, blonde girl came up to him and punched his shoulder.

"Don't be rude seaweed brain," she said teasingly to him. She turned her stormy gray eyes to me and took my hand and shook it. "Hi, I'm Annabeth, and the guy gaping like a fish is Percy. Come on in." Despite her lighthearted tone, I could almost see the gears whirring in her head, trying to put the pieces together. I knew she was not someone I wanted to mess with. I walked in, smiling slightly at them. So this was Percy. Sally was right: we did look alike. As I walked in, I heard Percy talking.

"Annabeth, do you think…" He spoke in a hushed tone, but I still heard him.

"I don't know. But she seems nice, despite you being a total idiot and just standing there in the doorway!" I saw a flash of dark hair out of the corner of my eye.

"Arielle, you came!" I heard Sally say from the kitchen. I smiled at her as she took something out of the oven.

"Hi Miss Sally," I said. "Do you need any help?"

"No thank you, sweetie. Just take a seat in the living room over there." I walked into the room and sat on the couch, which Percy and Annabeth were already crashed out on. I sat on the edge with my feet curled up underneath me. My fingers drummed anxiously against my thighs: whenever I was stressed out or thinking hard about something, the ADHD that normally never showed up was visible. None of us were talking.

"So…" I said, trying to diffuse the tension. "Um, New York's cool."

"It is," Percy agreed. I was waiting for him to elaborate, but he never did.

"Please excuse Percy, he's just a bit slow," Annabeth said.

"Hey!" he protested. "Am not!" I started laughing. "Do you have ADHD or Dyslexia?" He blurted. Annabeth's smile wiped off her face.

"Seaweed brain, you can't just ask someone if they-"

"I had severe dyslexia and ADHD as a kid," I interrupted. "But now my dyslexia is gone and my ADHD isn't a problem."

"How did you get over your dyslexia?" Annabeth asked, curious. "I've been trying and trying to get rid of mine but I can't." I shrugged.

"I made myself read and read until the letters just stopped swirling around." Silence fell over us again. I was about to ask the question I've been dying to ask since I arrived when I was saved from awkwardness by the doorbell.

"I'll go get that," Percy said, almost leaping up from the couch and running to the door.

"So, where are you from?" I asked Annabeth.

"San Francisco," she said.

"Oh wow, that must've been awesome," I replied. "I've always wanted to go there and visit the Golden Gate Bridge."

"I know, right? The architectural structure," she said, her eyes blazing with excitement. She began talking about the supports, and all of the little details of the bridge itself. I actually was able to understand most of what she was saying: most of our tech-ed class in middle school was architecture. While she was talking about why the cables were able to support such weights, Percy walked in with another guy. He had bright blue eyes with a ring of warm topaz around the pupil. He was laughing, and chatting with Percy as if they were best friends.

"Ari?" He said, gasping.

"Conor!" I said, slightly relieved to see him. He gave me a huge smile and plopped down on the couch, giving me a hug.

"Hey! I thought you were busy today!"

"Yeah, with this," I replied. "Are you stalking me or something?"

"Definitely," he replied cheekily. He turned to Annabeth and Percy. "How do you know Ari?" He asked curiously, a weird look coming into his eyes.

"We just met today," Percy replied.

"Oh," he replied. "She's cool, I promise." I elbowed him. "What? That was a compliment!" He complained.

"I can talk for myself, Con." I chastised him. Annabeth laughed, and I joined. The atmosphere immediately lightened and we got more comfortable with each other.

Dinner went without a hitch. We all became pretty chatty and I found myself warming up to Annabeth and Percy. They were really nice people.

When we were saying goodbye, Conor invited Annabeth and Percy to Times Square with us. I was happy: I wanted to get to know them more. For all I knew, Percy could be some relative of mine. I never really knew about my father and who he was. And Annabeth was cool.

Conor insisted on walking me home, which was sweet. Lately, I wish he would make a move. Sometimes, his fingers would brush mine, and we'd sometimes bump shoulders, but nothing else.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Conor said as we arrived at my apartment. I nodded. "Okay then, bye." He said, kissing me on the cheek and quickly walking away.

"Hey!" I protested. He just laughed. With a goofy grin on my face, I went to bed. And that night, I had no nightmare.

**Thanks for reading? Review, please? **


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, I decided to walk to the spot where Percy, Annabeth, and Conor were going to meet me. I realized that NYC wasn't the labyrinth I thought it was when I first came here. I knew where I was going. I became a bit too sure of myself, and took a shortcut through an alley I knew was safe.

"Arielle!" I heard my name being called. I turned around and found nobody. "Arielle!" Conor's voice was more frantic, panicked almost. I looked around, the light from the sun peeking through the buildings. What was he doing here?

"Conor?" I called.

"Over here!" I heard the voice say, strained. Looking around, I saw nobody. I kicked away trash at my feet and searched for a place where Conor could be. Pushing away a scrap of cardboard that hung on the side of the brownstone wall, I found a gaping hole in the building. Before I went in, though, I pulled out my phone and texted Annabeth, whose number I got yesterday.

R Percy and u ok? I think Conor's in trouble. Come to the alleyway btwn east 60th & 61st. Then I heard a masculine scream. I pocketed my phone and ran in without hesitating. I wish I waited for a couple more minutes for Percy and Annabeth and Conor to show up. Or maybe call 911 or something. But that would be logical, and that's not my style. I'm more of an act now think later kind of person. Must be the ADHD. Which was why I never even hesitated, not even stopping to wonder why Conor called me Arielle instead of Ari, like he always did.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I stupidly tried to navigate through the dirty tunnels that I recognized as a sort of ancient subway tunnel. I shone my makeshift flashlight (aka my phone) through the darkness.

"Hello." Conor's voice said behind me. I jumped, startled. Conor was fine: so why did he sound so terrified before? I got goosebumps down my spine as someone breathed behind me.

"There you-" I turned around and screamed. Because instead of Conor, a horrendous creature was smiling gruesomely at me.

"Seafood for dinner, yum," it said in a deep, monsterous voice. I dropped my phone, and it shattered in pieces as it made contact with the floor. So much for indestructible samsungs, I thought wryly to myself despite the situation I was in. And then I felt myself get hit and the world turned black.

I woke up bound completely by ropes. My head pounded and I could barely breathe. I struggled to open my eyes, and I looked around for where I was as my eyelids fluttered open.

I realized that I was in an abandoned brownstone. Some light peeped through various holes in the ceiling. The bricks were barely put together, and it was obvious that the building was poorly structured. The glue cement or whatever it was that kept the bricks together was cracking, almost nonexistent in places. The main source of light was a humongous fire crackling in the middle of the room. A figure was hunched over near the fire, covered with some disgusting green leather. It didnt know I was awake, instead choosing to tend anxiously to the fire. It was huge: each of his hands were probably my size. And the smell radiating from it was awful, like a skunk died in a pair of sweaty, dirty gym socks and was left to rot in a gym locker for years. A chill ran through me: that wasn't leather. It was its skin. But what scared me the most wasn't the weird green tinge of its skin, or the fact that it was probably 10 times my size. What terrified me was the fact that this creature only had one eye.

My ADHD was kicking in, and I felt myself hyperaware of everything. I noticed that there was a bronze-colored knife nearby. I tried to scooch there without making too much of a noise. But as I moved a tiny bit, I heard a crunch as I made contact with the ground. I automatically looked at the cyclops: thankfully, a loud crackle from the fire masked the sound I made. When I looked at the ground, though, I almost blew my cover by screaming bloody murder. What made the crunching noise was the hundreds of bones scattered on the ground. And those weren't chicken bones.

I frantically cut my ropes with the dagger. It looks so easy in the movies, I thought bitterly. Eventually, the ropes were cut off and I was free. I silently tried to hide in the shadows and escape, even though the exit was on the other side of the cave.

The Cyclops grunted, satisfied with the fire, and sauntered over to where I was just a couple minutes ago, tied up and helpless. With a roar, it began looking everywhere with its one eye. I shuddered inwardly as its gaze went past my corner.

Knowing that the only way to escape was to fight, I looked at my options. To be honest, the probability of me escaping without a scratch was highly improbable. Noticing that there was a ladder leading to a second floor. Well, at least it looked like a second floor: it was just a sheet of metal with a lot of holes in it. I climbed up the ladder silently, and almost made it to the top. But then I felt a stab of pain in my head, and stumbled a tiny bit on the rungs. The sound of my sneaker on the metal was loud in the silence of the vast space, and he lumbered over to me with a ferocious roar.

Don't ask me how I did it. Maybe I'm secretly ninja. Maybe I watched too many kick-ass movies. But I honestly don't know what came over me. I jumped off the ladder and landed on the cyclop's neck. Then I stabbed him right in the jugular.

The Cyclops roared and threw me off, and I went flying into a corner. Pain seared through me as I felt a piece of shrapnel go into my abdomen area. You were too weak, I thought to myself feebly. This is what happens when you're weak. And then I passed out.

_ I was curled up in the corner trying to protect myself. But there was no escaping anything. My stepdad stood in front of me, his eyes bloodshot from taking too much drugs and his breath smelled like alcohol. He waved a beer bottle haphazardly around in a drunken stupor, the beer dripping everywhere. I blinked tears out of my eyes as droplets got into them._

_ "You pathetic little mess!" he said. "I can't believe you actually thought that you would get away with it!"_

_ "I was hungry," I whimpered in a childlike voice._

_ "I was hungry," he imitated me, his voice rising hysterically. "Haven't you heard? There are people dying of hunger every damn day! So what makes you so special, huh? What makes you so much more deserving?" His voice got dangerously low. "Let me tell you. Nothing." He took a swig from the bottle. "You are pathetic." He took one last sip from his now empty beer bottle and peered at me. "Are you crying?" He said in a normal tone. And he threw the bottle at the wall. "You're weak!" He screamed at me. "Tears should be from pain. And you- you don't know pain. I'll show you what pain is." As the glass rained on me, i saw my torn reflection from a small shard of glass, one of hundreds littered around me now. Blood traced around my hands. and I felt salt in my mouth as he punched me in the jaw repeatedly until all I could see was red._

I woke up, gasping. There was a pounding in my head. Putting my hand on my ab region, I felt wet warmth. Blood. I moaned in pain.

"Arielle." I heard Conor's voice say. I curled up in fetal position, refusing to feel comforted by the soothing voice.

"It's not him, it's not him," I mumbled to myself, trying to sound convincing. Tears began to fall down my face.

"Arielle, are you okay?" Now it was Annabeth.

"It's not them. It's not them," I kept saying hysterically. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. I screamed, and tried to push away. I stood up and stumbled over my own two feet. A pair of arms wrapped around me. Familiar arms. I choked a sob: they came for me.

"It's okay," Conor said in my ear. Sobbing, I hugged him as hard as I could.

"It's you," I gasped. He smiled.

"Yeah, it's me," he replied. "And I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you, in the state you're in." His blue eyes glowed in the fire that still burned in the middle of the room. The fire that was supposed to roast me alive.

"What happened?" Percy asked.

"There was a, a thi-" I gasped in pain, doubling over. Conor laid me down on the ground, and I felt the coldness replace the warmth that radiated from his body. I tried to get up.

"Whoa, Arielle. Lie down, you're hurt," Annabeth said. She seemed like she wanted to get closer and check my wounds, but she refrained from it. Stubbornly, I sat up, despite protests from Conor.

"No, you're too weak to get up!" Percy said exasperatedly. I glared at him, even though I knew that wasn't what he meant. I leaned against the wall for support.

"See?" I said stubbornly.

"You're leaning on the wall," Annabeth said. "That's not standing, and even now you're not healthy enough to do that! Just sit down." Her voice was soothing.

"I'm not weak," I said. I stood up stubbornly, taking my hand away from the wall. I looked down at my stomach: there was a gaping hole in my tank top. Skin showed there, at least what remained of it. Most of the area was red, and not just from blood. The gash that the shrapnel made was long and deep. "Damn! That was my favorite tank top!" was all I could think of saying before my world turned upside down again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey people! Thanks for reading... Review, maybe?**

The next time I woke up was weird. There was nothing ominous about where I was: it was just a bit more nice than what I was used to. I was lying in a big bed, in what reminded me of the medical wing of Hogwarts, but not as big. And instead of being in a castle, I was in a really big room of what looked like an average colonial. All the windows were covered with curtains, but a haze that came through them signaled that it was sunny outside. I scanned the room: there wasn't anybody insight.

On my right, I found a plate. On it was a single square of what looked like a brownie. I picked it up and sniffed it. I took a small nibble of it. Immediately warmth surged through me. It tasted like blue raspberry gummi rings from Sweet on America: my favorite food ever. I ate the whole thing, savoring the taste. Strength came back to me, and I stood up. But right as I did, I fell again. That was when I noticed what I was wearing. Why was I wearing an orange tshirt? And more importantly, where was I?

Then I felt my hair. It was neatly brushed, maybe even straightened. Who the hell would straighten my hair?

I forced myself to walk. It was more of a pathetic penguin waddle really, but at least I was able to move. I pulled back the curtains from one of the windows and found myself looking at the most bizarre place ever.

All of the people there were wearing orange shirts. Some people played basketball at a court, and others were practicing archery. Okay, so this is a summer camp, I deduced. But what the hell would a summer camp be doing with a rock wall with- was that lava? And the cabins were weird. The only one that looked normal was the one on the far left. The rest were freaky. One glowed gold, others looked like frickin luxury mansions or something! I looked around, finding the door. Opening it, I walked down a hallway and out an open door. I went down the stairs of the front porch, wincing at every step. People began to notice me, and I heard snippets of their conversations.

"That's her-"

"beat a Cyclops"

"Isn't it?"

I ignored them and pressed on. Maybe I could find Annabeth or Percy or Conor. I kept on walking.

"Arielle!" I heard a familiar voice say. I looked around and saw Conor running over to me. He gave me a big hug, twirling me around. "I thought you were dead," he said, his eyes shining. I loved the way his smile wasn't only a flash of teeth: it radiated from his eyes and his whole face, making everything brighter.

"Disappointed?" I asked, smirking.

"Definitely," he replied sarcastically. Then he frowned at me, brushing hair out of my face. "You're not supposed to be out of bed." I pulled away.

"I'm fine," I said. His frown deepened. "Now, can you please tell me where the hell I am?" An ominous shadow appeared behind me.

"That's my job, my dear," a voice said. I whirled around and saw a man. He stood there, with an orange shirt on and everything. Was it some kind of camp shirt? He looked kind, but tired, as if he had been in this situation before. But below the waist, instead of pants he had sinewy, velvet fur. His legs- they weren't human legs. And, to top that, there were four of them. It was an actual, living, breathing centaur.

It seemed like I would never get a break. First, I get attacked by a frickin one eyed thing. Next, I figure out that I was out for 3 WHOLE WEEKS. And I wake up to find myself in front of a man who was half horse. But this? This was my breaking point.

"no," I said stubbornly. "My dad isn't a god," I simply stated. No way. He couldn't be. He was probably some nobody that my mom got high with. He got her knocked up and ran away, too scared to be a dad. Or he was some lawyer from Virginia who never knew I existed.

"There's no way that you aren't," Annabeth said exasperatedly, all patience lost. She's been trying to coax me into believing her and Chiron, but her patience was wearing thin. "Look, you have no idea who in hades your dad is. You have ADHD and you had dyslexia as a kid. Most of the kids here have ADHD and are dyslexic. You had moments, like a couple of weeks ago, when you just can't explain what in Zeus' name happened." I thought about it. I flashed back to my childhood: that one guy that stalked me on the beach forever. That teacher who I insisted was not human. Could it be-? "Face it: you're a demigod. But I promise, you're not alone. We're all family here." I looked around: and I had to admit, the idea that this could be home sounded pretty good to me. But then I sighed: I would always be alone. I was too broken. I shook the thoughts from my head.

"So who's my dad?" I asked. Annabeth grimaced a little, fiddling with her thumbs..

"Um, we actually figured that out while you were asleep." She looked uncomfortable. "When we found you, we tried to wake you up after you passed out. Percy decided to splash some water on your face, you know, like in the movies." She looked mortified at my face. "What? It worked! Your skin just healed." She sighed. "I've only seen that once, with Percy. And since you two look so alike-" I interrupted her babbling.

"Who's our dad?" I said.

"Poseidon," she admitted.

"Okay," I said. Why not?

"Well, it's just an assumption. We can't really be sure until he claims you."

"And when will that happen?" Annabeth laughed.

"We don't really know. The gods- they don't really have time for us. I just met my mother for the first time two years ago."

"So I could be in the dark about who my father really is for years?" I said.

"Basically," she said. Her stormy eyes looked out at the nymphs who were waving at us from the lake.

"That's not happening to me," I said. "He's not ignoring me. I'll make sure of it. I'll be back." With that, I ran away from here. I sprinted towards the water, ignoring the indignant campers as I ran right through their basketball game. I went to the sand, the call of the ocean. I took off my shoes and threw them to the side. I ran into the water.

"Give me a sign!" I screamed. "I'm not going to be ignored anymore!" I probably looked like a total lunatic, but all the people here were crazy- with the belief in Greek Gods and what not. I needed to see if it was true: if my father was here the whole time. All of the times that I've been abused, spat in the face, and left alone. And here my father was, somewhere in the depths of the salt water I've been swimming in since I was an infant. I went to the beach every damn day. I swam in the winter, I even spent nights out on the sand. And my dad couldn't even pop up to introduce himself? The waves began to get higher as I got more and more frustrated. Then, the water began to glow. The water next to me came upwards, forming a crude trident. I looked at it, amazed. Then I grabbed it in my hand. Immediately the water fell apart, and the only thing left in my hand was a silver charm bracelet. It had a single charm: a light blue trident.

"I can't be bought," I whispered to the water. "Not after the hell I've been through. But thanks for trying, for once." I dropped the bracelet back into the water and I turned around to see basically the whole camp staring at me. Chiron cantered through the people. Then he kneeled down, and all of the campers followed suit.

"All hail Arielle Calder," he said. "Daughter of Poseidon."

**Thanks sosososososo much for reading! Don't forget to review!**

**Love, sunsetsandsilhouettedreams17 **


	7. Chapter 7

**Heres the next chapter :)**

After that awkward moment of everybody kneeling down at me, I got to move into my cabin. Fun. Percy walked with me, seeing as he was now my half brother. He was nervously twirling around one of those 10 cent bic pens. It was kind of weird now that it was solidly known that we had the same dad.

"So, uh, the cabin's right here," Percy said. "Um, I guess you could sleep wherever you want." He became less hesitant and more confident. "But today we have capture the flag and the campfire. Chiron said that you should be in bed during it, but if you really want to he'd probably let you play. It'll be a lot of fun. We're playing with Athena and Apollo cabin, so Annabeth and Conor will be on our team," he coaxed.

"Yeah, I'll do it," I said. Might as well jump right in now that I was conscious. He smiled.

"Great! Um, I guess we'll have to go to the armory and get you suited up then."

"Yeah, sure. Just give me a couple minutes." He smiled sheepishly and left the cabin, finally understanding that I needed some space. I looked around the cabin: I've never lived in anywhere so big, not even my mom's mansion was this size. I guess the cabins were magic or something, because it sure as hell didn't look like much from the outside. I chose a bunk in the very corner, with a small window that looked out on the Sound. I immediately thought of the amazing view from my walkup in Manhattan. I sighed: so much for starting over in New York City. I sat down on something hard. Standing up, I realized that the charm bracelet that I threw in the water magically showed up on my bunk. With a sigh, I picked it up and played with it. Almost instinctively, I wrapped my hand around the trident charm. Immediately, the bracelet disappeared, replaced by a beautiful bronze sword. I examined it. With a gasp, I recognized it as the one that I found in the Cyclops cave. There was an aquamarine stone in it, the same color as the trident. On the side it read _**ἁλιπόρος. **_ which the sea flows, I thought to myself.

"Hey, Ari? I know that you need some time to process this, but we have to go to the Armory before Capture the Flag- Whoa," he stopped as I stood up with the sword in my hand. He took it from me and started swinging around with it. "This is totally awesome! It's kinda like my sword, riptide." Sitting next to me on the bed, he took out a pen and offered it to me proudly. I didn't take it, instead shooting him a weird look.

"Um, Percy, I hate to break it to you, but that's a pen." I smirked. He laughed, uncapping it. The pen slowly morphed into a bronze sword.

"What were you saying?" He said. I punched his shoulder. He groaned in pain."What's with everyone doing that?" He complained.

"Better get used to it, seaweed brain" I replied, teasingly using the nickname Annabeth used for him. I noticed him turn a bit red.

"Let's just go to the armory and get you suited up," he said. We walked past cabins, and we almost past them when a nasty voice snarled at us.

"Where do you think you're going, newbie?" I turned around. Standing there was a group of the toughest-looking teens I've ever met. They all were totally ripped, and looked mean as pitbulls.

"Come on Blair, she just got here-" Percy said.

"Exactly. Got to keep the tradition alive, don't we?" Percy was about to protest, but I stopped him.

"no, I'll be fine. I need to show these people that they can't mess with me. I'll see you at the armory, kay?" I said. He nodded, and started to walk to the direction of the armory. I faced them. "Blair? That's an intimidating name." I smirked.

"Come on, let's show this chick not to insult the Ares cabin," Blair snarled. I took out my sword. I pointed it at them.

"Go right ahead," I replied. She took out a knife from her pocket and attacked me. I dodged her attack and, without a thought, hit her on the head with the butt of my sword. She groaned and lay on the ground.

I smirked at the other cabiners. I probably radiated all this bad-assness, but I honestly had no idea what I was doing. "Still wanna fight me?"

They narrowed their eyes and all attacked me at once. One person didn't even bother getting out a sword: he immediately tried to grab my legs and trip me. I jumped on his back and knocked him out with my sword. He crumbled to the ground.

I knocked out two others, and pointed my sword at the last one. I don't know how it happened, but my sword began to spew water right at her. It encased her whole body, swirling around weirdly. She started spitting it out of her mouth, and, when she was distracted, I said, "Don't mess with me again." And then I ran away, feeling like a boss.

Adrenaline pumped through me. How the hell did I just do that, I thought to myself, smiling a bit and laughing out loud. Hope swelled through me.

I guess I really was meant to be here, after all.

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Next chapter! Please review!**

"You guys really take Capture the Flag seriously, huh?" I said as Conor helped me strap all my armor in. He finished.

"Yep," he said, nodding satisfactorily at his work.

"So you're on my team, right? So that makes your parent-"

"Apollo," he said. "God of light, healing, and music. Cool, huh?"

"Yeah, it explains why your voice is so great," I responded, smiling as he looked at the ground and turned a light red. I walked around in circles, trying to get used to the extra weight. I stumbled over a rock. I groaned. "Ugh, I won't be able to run in this. I'm barely able to walk in it!"

"You'll get used to it," he said, steadying me before I could trip over my own two feet again. "Trust me." But could I, I thought subconsciously?

"Why didn't you tell me before?" I blurted out suddenly. He looked at me weirdly. "That I was a demigod?" he sighed.

"I wanted to," he admitted. "but I didn't know if you were one of us, and when you do know, monsters can detect you easier. And I needed a clean start." He smiled at me. "But I'm glad you're here. You know, I was the person to bring you back to health." He stuck out his chest pompously. "You should be thanking me." Going towards him feeling a bit less awkward, I kissed him on the cheek. He blushed, a smile creeping across his face.

"Thank you," I said sincerely. He opened his mouth to say something when Annabeth walked towards us.

"So, we're going to do the usual strategy," she told Conor. Then she turned to me. "You're going to be offense. What we're going to do is you're going to be the backup offensive. I know you're new, but I saw you take on the Ares cabin all by yourself."

"What?" Conor said, confused, looking at me with shock. Annabeth ignored him.

"Besides, if you get caught, I'll intercept them and help you out. I got your back," she said, smiling slightly and punching my shoulder. I nodded.

"Aye, aye, captain!" I said cheekily. She punched my shoulder again affectionately, and with one last smirk as she looked at both of us knowingly, she left to tell others of the plan.

I looked around the forest. The stream that divided the two territories twinkled in the light of dusk. I took a deep breath: none of the enemies were nearby yet. I quickly crossed the stream and sprinted as fast as I could into a clump of bushes. The armor was weighing me down too much: I quickly unstrapped the greaves: I didn't need protection in my legs. I automatically felt better. I held my bracelet in my hand, and it elongated into my sword. I looked around for people and then went further into the woods.

I had a couple of close calls: the Hephaestus kids almost found me, and I did not want to mess with them, what with their burly and muscular builds. Two people that looked like twins cursed as they stumbled through the woods. I almost laughed at their faces, but I controlled myself.

Eventually, I got to where the banner was placed, on the top of a pile of rocks. But it was completely surrounded by people. There was no way that I would be able to get through so many people. I looked around, noticing that there was a big tree that had a branch a couple of feet above the flag. I silently climbed up it, feeling so glad that I used to climb trees all the time in Narragansett. I eventually managed to get to the branch in question, but it was way too thin to ever hold my weight.

I sprinted as fast as I could on the branch and jumped off right as it was about to break, landing on top of the rocks without a scratch. But the noise startled people, and they were beginning to notice me. I quickly grabbed the banner and jumped off the rocks as far as I could. I hit the ground running, which wasn't a good idea. I tripped, but years of running for exercise allowed me to do this weird somersault thing and land on my feet and just keep running.

I had a couple of close calls with the cabiners, but I refused to stop. I kept running. I probably sprinted a half mile until I finally saw the stream that I would cross and be home free. Then, all of the Ares cabin arrived, blocking my path to the stream. There were a lot more of them than before, I thought nervously.

But then a surge of blue plumes surrounded them. They all were distracted by the sudden sneak attack. My team had my back, I thought. I crossed the stream, victorious. Annabeth appeared right next to me out of nowhere, causing me to jump slightly and point my sword at her. She made me drop the sword and then threw her arms around me.

"You did it!" She screamed.

"How the hell did you just show up?" I asked, dazed. She laughed.

"My Yankees hat- it turns the wearer invisible," she said.

"Okay, invisibility. Why am I not surprised?" I muttered. I looked down on the banner: it turned blue, with a seafoam green trident on it.

Dinner was pretty eventful. Percy's cup malfunctioned (he blamed the Stoll twins) and blue coke blasted everywhere. So we had to sit with Chiron and Mr. D at the head table. Mr. D kind of ticked me off: he never got my name right, and he probably threatened to turn me into an atlantic bottlenose 20 times. Normally I would've punched him in the face numerous times, but Percy shot me a warning glance everytime my frustration sent me to the brink.

After dinner, we had a huge campfire. The flames were magic, and fed off of the excitement and happiness of the moment. There were so many people I didn't know: but most of them smiled at me, laughing, and introduced themselves. To my right, Annabeth was talking to Percy animatedly while Percy's eyes were glazing over. Conor sat to my left, abandoning his cabinmates and friends to sit with me. He nudged my knee with his.

"So you okay?" He said. "I know it's a lot to process, but you seemed to totally embrace it." He chuckled. "When I found out my dad was Apollo, I literally tried to run away from camp." I shrugged.

"You know, when I was little, I knew that I was different," I winced at the memories. "People were too cruel. So I guess that, even though this whole greek-gods-are-our-parents thing is totally insane, it's not," I struggled to find the words. "Malicious. And that's what's important."

"Nice word choice," he approved, trying to lighten the mood. It worked: I laughed.

"I know. I guess those few months at Goode really helped me expand my vocabulary," I joked.

We spent the rest of the night talking about nonsense, like pranks and regular camp activity. We eventually had to leave since it was getting so late. Lying down in my bunk, I couldn't help but feel as if, just maybe, I found home.

**Thanks for reading :) Please don't forget to review!**


	9. Chapter 9

AHHHH DON"T KILL ME PLEASE! I'm sososososo sorry I haven't uploaded in FOREVER, but I have good reasons. 1. My parents are divorcing 2. Sophomore year is HARD and 3. I honestly have been having sort of a writer's block but I'm getting over it so it's alright :)

The abandoned brownstone flickered in the firelight. I was running, always running. Every exit I ran through just led me back there, to the haunting Cyclops that grinned eerily at me. It picked me up by my legs, and I was helpless, dangling upside down. I saw Conor, tied up in a lump next to the fire, unconscious. I started squirming against the Cyclops grip, but he was just too strong. Then, laughing evilly, he threw me at the corner wall with a loud roar.

I woke up, covering my mouth with my hand so as to not scream. On the other side of the cabin, Percy mumbled in his sleep. The nighttime was silent, and the birds chirped in the woods. I checked the clock on the wall: 5:00 am. Sighing, I stood up and quietly put on shorts and a new tshirt. Somehow, all of my stuff from the apartment in NYC magically turned up in my drawers. So I didn't have to buy anything from the store or anything.

After brushing my teeth and washing my face in the cabin bathroom, I walked outside. Everyone else was still asleep, and I could see that the sun was beginning to peek from the horizon. I sat down on the beach, with my feet in the water.

I was thinking about Narangessett. The beach was probably beautiful as ever. Tons of seaglass would be scattered across the beach, mine to keep. Early surfers would probably be searching for a wave to ride.

Then, out of nowhere, I found myself at the sandy bottom of the ocean. I tried holding my breath, but then I let it go, discovering that I could breathe underwater. About 50 feet above me, I saw the silhouette of a boat sailing. I saw that the sand sloped up towards land, so I swam towards there. I kept holding my breath, but then I realized: shouldn't my eyes be burning from the salt water? I hesitatingly took a breath of water: it flowed freely in and out of my lungs, as if I was a fish. I eventually was able to skim the surface of the water with my head.

I arrived on a sandy beach. The sunset was still happening, and the pink light of dawn illuminated a big tan house. The garden and lawn were impeccably neat, and there was nothing out of place. I don't know how, but somehow I managed to end up in Narragansett just by thinking about it.

At first, I was purely shocked. But as the surprise diminished, I found more and more curiosity coming over me. I wanted to go in and see what they were doing. Did they even notice that I was gone?

I walked up to the house without even trying to be cautious. They were probably sleeping off the alcohol or something.

The back door was unlocked, as usual. It was even messier than I remembered. My mother probably fired the latest maid when she was drunk or something.

I went up the stairs to the attic. The attic was my part of my house, my sanctuary.

Dust flickered in the light of the sun. It was clear that nobody has been here for months. My note about how I was running away lay on the ancient desk, untouched. They didn't even know that I was gone. Although I guessed as much, I hoped that they would. I harbored the secret desire that my mom would finally wake up, leave my awful stepdad's pathetic ass, and look for me. But I guess not.

I ran my fingers along the shells that remained stacked on my desk. I took mostly everything, but there was no way that I could pack all of my shells. There were hundreds of them. I held up a small conch shell. It was perfect, a rosy pinkish tan color. The color turned to pale aqua at the tip. I pocketed it. I looked around: all of the memories I had in here were not pleasant. I flashed back to the nights I spent here, barely conscious. I had to drag myself up the stairs. I touched my arm where I knew a round burn scar was etched in my skin from when he pressed the cigarette against me. I closed the door and walked down to the second floor. I peered in the bedroom.

My mom and him were lying in their bed. Clothes were strewn everywhere, and so were cigarette buds and pill bottles. I almost stepped on an empty whiskey bottle in the doorway.

How could they live like this? A whole life based on illusions, and relying on drugs to be happy. No, they weren't happy. They just needed to be relieved.

I saw him stirring in his sleep. I quickly tiptoed down the stairs and left the house. But, before I left, I put a single shell on the kitchen countertop. Maybe they'll remember me.

I walked on the streets of Narrangesett, absorbing the familiar smells of the city. Tourists walked all around me. Right: it was summer.

I found myself at the abandoned beach. No tourists ever came here: it was a secret place just for the people who lived here. Nobody really came here because it was pretty rocky, but I loved it. The last time I was here, I was thinking about what it would be like to escape. I had this silly dream of me finding my father in New York and having a regular happy ending. But it wasn't like that. Well, I knew who my father was now. Another problem: he was the frickin god of the sea. I guess life's cruel like that, I thought humorlessly.

They say you shouldn't look back. That you should keep going. But as I looked at the beach, I realized that you had to look at the past. You had to relive the pain and the sorrow and the moments of happiness and the moments when you seriously thought it was all over. You have to look at the past so you could learn from it. I wasn't completely over everything, but it was a really slow process. One that I've only just begun.

The sun was already fully up. I should go back to camp, I thought. I walked into the water, my mind flooding with thoughts of last night and all the past I've never truly gotten over.

Please review? Suggestions would be helpful :)


	10. Chapter 10

Hi guys! As a sort of peace offering for not being online in forever, I have a second chapter :) I'll start updating a lot more frequently. Maybe more often if you all review, so do it :)

As I was walking up to my cabin, it was pretty quiet. Some of the campers were awake, and I heard the distant clashing of swords came from the arena. It was weird, but I was already completely accustomed to the whole demigod thing. I accepted all of the magic and monsters and that my dad is Poseidon and in some cruel joke my name was the same as the Disney Princess who was a daughter of Neptune.

I heard the light strumming of a guitar. Conor was sitting on a log near the firepit, humming quietly to a song. I held my trident charm until it morphed into a sword. I playfully swung it so that it touched the tip of his neck. He chuckled.

"Really? You just got that yesterday, you don't wanna get it confiscated due to abuse," he said.

"They can't do that," I replied, sitting next to him. "I've only been here for a small amount of time, and I can tell that much. What are you doing up so early?"

"I rise with the sun. Child of Apollo and all that. And what about you? I distinctly remember you always grumbling about how mornings were evil. And you have dark spots under your eyes," he said, stroking my cheek a tiny bit. I blushed. "Have you been sleeping alright?" I turned away and he coughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"No," I said honestly. "But I'll get over it. Listen, do you maybe want to fight in the arena for a bit before breakfast? I really want to learn how to sword fight," I said. He smirked.

"Yeah, sure. But I have to warn you, I might be too good for you," he said cheekily. I stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him off the log with his guitar. "Hey, I have to go put my guitar back, at least!" he protested.

"You can put it on the side," I replied. And when he laughed, I realized his laugh was the best sound I have ever heard.

I walked into the hall with Percy. I've been here for a couple of weeks, and I found that I changed somewhat. I gained a lot more muscle, and I felt a lot happier. I also made a couple more friends. But the majority of people eyed me with suspicion. Apparently, children of Poseidon were rare, and virtually never survive to be 15, especially outside of camp. Some even thought I was a spy for Kronos' army.

I quickly ate breakfast and went with Percy to train. He'd always beat me, but I was getting better with every spar, and I even beat him once. We would fight for about two hours, and then we would separate. I'd take Ancient Greek with Annabeth and he'd go to the lava rock-climbing wall. Then, I'd go to archery with Conor. Him being a son of Apollo, he completely kicked my butt. But I got him back in canoeing.

As the weeks kept going, I felt a certain tension between Conor and me. It was subtle, but it was there. He'd sometimes brush his hand against mine, and he said some things that made me think that my crush on him was mutual. But he'd never make a move or anything.

The fireworks were coming up soon. Percy told me about how on the Fourth of July, the Hephaestus cabin makes this absolutely amazing firework display, and it's mostly like a couple thing. So I thought that maybe Conor would ask me to it. But apparently not.

So here I was, the third of July, and I was already deciding that I would hang out with the Stolls at the fireworks. Conor probably invited someone else. So I let out my frustration by jogging on the beach.

Stupid son of Apollo, I thought as I kept going. I went past the border and into the public beach. I used to scoff at the girls who want guys to make the first move. I mean, asking Conor straight out if he liked me would make everything so much easier: but I was too chicken.

A part of my mind nervously wanted to turn around and go back to camp turf. But, I mean, I was only 300 feet or so outside of the border. What trouble could I be in?

And as a creature lumbered towards me, I thought, a lot apparently.

A green, scaly body came quickly towards me: a drakon growled at me, baring its nasty sharp teeth. It did not seem like it just wanted to have a nice chat over tea. I grasped my trident charm and went up to it.

I dodged its teeth once again, and retaliated with a quick stab in the neck of the dragon. It was like a never-ending game: I'd attack, the dragon would lunge, and the cycle would begin again. Finally, I managed to sink the blade deep into its side. With one more ferocious roar, it exploded in a poof of gold dust, leaving a single fang. I picked it up, proud but still in shock of what I just did. I just killed a dragon, and I didn't die! My ADHD totally over came me, and my brain whirred with adrenaline. I was about to start to run back into the camp before something else happened when I felt a searing pain in my abdomen area: I looked down to see a gash in my shirt with a nasty green and red cut. The stupid dragon succeeded in biting me with its probably venomous teeth.

I began to sprint as fast as I could to the camp. Come on, Arielle, you can do this, I thought to myself encouragingly. My legs began to feel like jello but finally I saw the cabins in the distance. But my happiness was short lived when I collapsed on the sand, thinking at least if I did die, at least I died with some sort of family.

CLIFFHANGER.

Please review?

Thanks X


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys! I'm sorry, but this chapter will be short. But I'll probably add a new chapter by Wednesday, maybe? I'm taking all honors and AP courses, so school is my main priority, but I WILL keep adding :). Thanks for reading and don't forget to review if you like it? I love hearing feedback 3

I woke up groggily, and with my head pounding. My eyes fluttered and I could see the blue and white sky. Wait- I was alive? I stood up, and immediately groaned and lay back down again.

"You'll want to rest for a couple of hours, sweetheart," a voice said from my left. I stood up, ignoring the vertigo, and looked at the source of the voice.

A man sat next to me, wearing sunglasses and looking vaguely familiar. He looked in his mid 30's, with a raggedy beard. He was dressed in rags. Then it struck me: I remembered him.

I was walking to Goode. It was my first day of going there, and I was nervous. And also panicky: I had no idea where to go. There was nobody on the streets to help me except for a hobo that was curling up in front of a fire. Might as well, I thought as I walked up to him.

"Um, hi," I said awkwardly. "I was wondering if you could tell me where Goode High is." He looked up at me, smiling so I could see the empty gaps where he lost teeth. I was starting to hesitate. Then he laughed.

"It's right over there, sweetheart," he said gruffly. "It's your first day, I suppose?" I nodded. "Well, good luck." He smiled kindly. I took 5 bucks out of my backpack.

"Thank you," I said. He took the money.

"No, thank you," he said. "But your kindness and compassion is rare in such a city. Don't lose it. Have a nice day, sweetheart." He lowered his sunglasses. I almost gasped: his eyes were impossibly gold, like two suns. I said goodbye quickly and crossed the street. And when I looked back, he was gone.

"You're that hobo I gave money too," I said.

"Well, not exactly a hobo, but yeah," he said.

"So who are you?" I asked. I was beginning to think that he was more than just human. Those eyes…

"How about I give you a hint," he said. "I am Apollo, the awesome god of the sun. You should be jealous." He looked proud of himself. I, on the other hand, tried my hardest to keep my most convincing poker face. But inside my lungs were literally dying with laughter. Of course the random hobo on the street was one of the twelve Olympian Gods. I took a deep breath to calm myself, but couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, Apollo. To what do I owe this pleasure?" I asked him. He snorted.

"Well, I did just save your life," he said. "You would've died on this beach if it wasn't for me. That drakon venom was highly toxic. I was shocked that you almost made it to the camp." I nodded.

"Well, thanks." I didn't know what to say: how do you thank a god that just saved your life?

"Don't mention it," he said. "You're destined for greatness, Arielle. Just as much as Percy, even. And you can't do that rotting in the ground. Besides, you proved yourself to me. You're a good person. And my son would be quite upset if you died." I realized he was talking about Conor, and turned red.

"yeah, he probably would," I said affectionately.

"Speaking of which, can you not tell him about this?" He asked.

"Sure, Apollo," I said.

"Well, I must be going. God of awesomeness is a pretty big responsibility," he said. "Just close your eyes. Don't want you to vaporize, do we?" I shut my eyes instead of rolling them like I was sorely tempted to do. And with a flash, the god of awesomeness was gone.

I walked into camp, trying to conceal the drakon fang. But it was pretty hard: it was bigger than my arm. I sprinted into my cabin and nearly rammed into Percy.

"Hey, I was wondering where you- what's that?" he said. I hastily threw it under one of the beds.

"Oh, nothing. I just found it on the beach," I lied. He narrowed his eyes and I knew that I was busted. "It's kinda on a need-to-know basis, okay?" He nodded, still looking a bit suspicious. Then he relaxed: that's what I loved about Percy. He never holds a grudge on me.

"Do you want to go practice in the arena?" He offered. My aching muscles protested, but I ignored them.

"Yeah, sure," I said. "Just let me go get a drink." I went to my bunk and took a goblet from the drawer. The Stolls and me stole the cups that magically fill up with any drink you want from the pavilion. I took a big gulp of ice cold blue raspberry icee: it was my all-time favorite drink, even in the winter. I went outside, offering some to Percy, who accepted it gratefully. Then I downed the rest of it and tossed the goblet into the cabin, too lazy to go back in and put it in my dresser.

Don't forget to review 3


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it :)**

Days whirled past in a summer haze. It was already Friday once again, and that meant one thing: Capture the Flag. Percy and me were playing with the Athena and Hermes cabin. Well, Aphrodite's cabin too, but they didn't do anything but gossip and check their reflections. Except Silena.

Silena was one of my closest friends here. She was not a regular Aphrodite kid: she was real. Sure, she liked makeup and gossip, but she liked pegasi and was super nice. She tried to give me a makeover, but don't do glitter. Just no.

So here I was, hanging with the Stoll brothers and Silena. The Stolls were busy whipping up some new theme, and Silena was talking about how Taylor Swift (who was actually a demigod) had to break up with every mortal she's dated because they were close to finding out her demigodness. I, however, was thinking of battle strategies. And trying to remember where the Ares cabin would most likely hang their flag. I was hanging out way too much with Annabeth, I thought wryly to myself.

As soon as Chiron declared that Capture the Flag officially began, I flitted across the stream. Hiding in the darkness, I went to the very first place I could think of where the flag might be: a small clearing with a small pile of rocks. I frowned in frustration: there was nobody there. I felt a woosh of an arrow flying past my head. I turned around, sword at the ready, and found Conor smirking at me.

"Well, I guess I found you," he said mischeaviously. He walked over to me.

"yeah, I guess you did," I replied. I pointed my sword at his throat.

"Whoa, whoa whoa," he held his hands over his head. "I don't want to fight. Just a one minute conversation, I swear. Then capture the flag."

"You put down your weapons," I said. He dropped his bow and quiver. I kept my sword firmly in my hand.

"So, what is it?" I asked. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"This would be so much more comfortable if you didn't have your sword about a quarter inch away from my neck," he said. I kept my sword in the same position. "Okay then, at least I tried. Um, so, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, but I was just scared you'd say no and yeah." I was waiting for him to get to the point. "I, uh, was wondering if you'd like to come with me to the fireworks?" He asked like a question. I smiled hugely, then dropped my sword and grabbed him in a big hug.

"Yeah, I'd love to!" I said happily. I looked him in the eye and I felt him lean in and touch my lips. I immediately responded, sinking in deeper. We stopped after a couple of seconds.

Finally, I thought to myself giddily. Then I remembered. We were in the middle of a capture the flag game. I was in enemy territory. In an open field. Not smart. I flashed him a smile and ran to the forest, ignoring his sound of indignation.

"See you at the fireworks!" I said, and sank into the shadows again. I was about to attempt to compose myself and begin looking for the flag again when a squeal from the side gave me a heart attack. I peered into the shadows, ready to attack. But then Silena jumped out of the darkness.

"Ohmigods, that was so cute!" She practically screamed. I covered her mouth with my hand.

"Silena, what in tartarus are you doing here?" I hissed.

"I videotaped everything!" She whispered. "It was just so sweet!" I sighed. I was about to face palm myself: of course.

"Why am I not surprised?" I asked myself. I shook my head, attempting to think clearly once more. "Okay, just go back to the other side and I'll be there soon, okay?" She nodded, and then flitted back into the forest. Sighing, I tried once more to get into my battle mode.

Finally, after a couple of close encounters with the Hephaestus cabin, I found the flag. It stood there, protected by the whole Ares cabin. And I wasn't sure I could defeat all of these people: namely those two burly 17 year olds who were flexing their muscles in anticipation of a battle.

So I, being me, choose the stupidest option that I had. I morphed the bracelet into my sword and ran right towards them.

Halfway into the battle with the Ares cabin, I got company. Percy and Annabeth (who was invisible) began fighting alongside me. I quickly got an opening. I grabbed the flag and, screaming, "RUN!" To Percy and Annabeth, we sprinted to the stream. "Take a piece," I said, panting. They both grabbed on to the banner and the three of us ran through the woods. I heard cries of outrage as we ran past the other team, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Conor laughing at me, not even trying to get the banner from us. I blew a kiss at him and the three of us crossed the stream victoriously.

**Don't forget to review! Thank you sososososo much for reading X**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi guys! Wow, I can't believe all of the amazing support you all have given me! I mean, when I initially posted this, I thought that I would maybe get one review, telling me about how awful my writing was! But you all have just been so kind to me, so I thought I'd show my thanks by way of a new chapter :) Please keep on reviewing and thank you so much for reading :)**

I felt two bodies crash on my blanket. The Stoll brothers smiled mischeaviously at me.

"Hello, Connor," I said to the one on my right. "Travis." They smiled.

"How can you tell us apart? Nobody can," Travis said. I laughed.

"Well, Travis, you're a little taller than Connor, in case you didn't know," I said. "And, I don't know. I just know you guys well enough."

"Aww, we're so flattered," Travis said, pretending to tear up and then sob into his hands.

"You should be," I replied, laughing.

"Well, we just came here to warn you that Silena is on the rampage looking for you," Connor said. "So, since we know your regular hiding spots, we told her you were at the arena so you could run for it." Yikes- when Silena looked for you, it meant two things. Either she wanted to set you up with somebody or give you a makeover. And in my case, it was both.

"Okay, thanks guys, I should run before she sees me," I said, wrapping up the blanket. "Could you possibly give this to Percy or something? Or you can just throw it in front of my cabin, I don't care," I said. They nodded. "And I know all your tricks, so don't even try to do anything," I warned. Their mischievous grins just widened. I heard Silena's voice in the distance talking to somebody. I sprinted away from them, intent on hiding somewhere in the sand dunes further down the coast. "See you two at the fireworks!"

After sprinting a sufficient distance, I decided to walk the rest of the beach. I twirled my hair absentmindedly: did I need a makeover? I haven't cut my hair in over 3 months, and forget about makeup. It never stayed on through the training I do everyday.

A dark figure surfaced from the sound. I jumped, staring at it: looking around, I realized that I accidentally crossed the camp border. I wanted to run for it, but I had no idea how far I was from camp. My bracelet elongated into a sword in my hand.

The monster was huge. It's head alone was probably twice my size, and it's body? Covered ugly head to tip with some hard black material, like the one they use to protect swat members from getting bad shot wounds. The tail curled up over its body, and the sharp tip of it was evident in the sunlight. It bared its fangs at me menacingly, and made a hiss that sounded like it was mocking me.

I tried and tried to kill this stupid thing, but the bronze wouldn't puncture through the skin. I attacked and dodged, forming an almost rhythmic dance with the drakon. I felt myself wearing thin, and the drakon managed to rip my shirt just a bit as I dodged the poisonous fangs. Finally, I gave one more frantic stab, knowing that if it didn't puncture then I would die. But, thank the gods, the sword finally got through and the drakon vanished in a puff of gold dust. All that was left was the tip of the tail, curling to resemble a curved blade.

I picked it up, panting. Checking for any marks, I sighed in relief when I found no bite marks. Putting a hand on my hip I felt a crippling pain in my abdomen. I looked at my hand to see that it was covered in blood. I pulled up my shirt to reveal a huge gash all up my abdomen. It had a gross green tinge and was oozing blood. I groaned: Apollo wouldn't save me this time.

I made it 2 miles, and was almost at the lake. I saw the mess hall in the distance and started smiling. I could make it, I encouraged myself. I hobbled on the path, my blood leaving a trail behind me. That's totally gross, I thought absentmindedly.

"Ari!" I heard a voice scream. I looked up with relief: Conor. He obviously came from the basketball court, because he was shirtless. I would've blushed, but I couldn't harness the energy. All I could focus on was the fire inside of me.

"I think I might be injured," I whimpered at the end. Then I just couldn't support myself: I collapsed on the ground. Conor caught me and picked me up in his arms. I just remember blue eyes with a golden ring around them staring at me concernedly before I passed out for the third time in a month.

**Yeah, guys, I know that this is like the third time she's been attacked by a monster but BEAR WITH ME. Don't forget to review :)**


	14. Chapter 14

GUYS HELP IM RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS LIKE REALLY OKAY! PLEASE REVIEW!

Oh, and thank you to all of the people who have taken the time to review, because I really appreciate them and it makes me feel like I'm not uploading this only to have nobody like it. So to all of the people who reviewed, I LOVE YOU ALL!

Enjoy the next chapter, we got some major fluff :)

The next time I woke, I was on one of the rocking couches in the Poseidon cabin. At first glance, Poseidon cabin didn't seem to be big. It took me a couple of days to discover that the cabin was more than just a room with a bunch of bunk beds. But it was magic, and there were lots of different rooms. And as soon as I did, I remembered grabbing Percy's hand and, not explaining anything, dragging him to the cabin and showing him the rooms. He seemed stunned: I guess he never really looked around the cabin. But now, I was in my bed, with pillows from other cabin bunks surrounding me. The moonlight went through the window, and it was dead silent. There wasn't even the sound of basketballs bounced off the pavement. And the Apollo cabin always played basketball. A single lamp was on, and it illuminated Conor. He was crashed on the rocking armchair in the corner, his eyebrows furrowed and his tongue slightly sticking out from concentrating so much. He was scribbling something down in his notebook. I smiled. He looked over at me and sighed in relief, throwing his book to the floor.

"You're awake!" he said. I nodded, and tried to get up. "Oh, I wouldn't do that," he said hastily, jumping out of his seat and carefully sitting next to me. "I tried to heal you as much as I could, but it's going to be a bit painful for a couple of days." He sat on the edge of my bed. I swung my feet over so that they touched the ground. We were just barely brushing elbows. We didn't say anything for a minute. Then he started laughing. "Why is it that, in the past month, you've almost died on me twice?" I laughed.

"Three times, actually," I said meekly.

"How- you know what? I don't even want to know," he said. He grabbed my hand. "As long as you're here and in one piece, it doesn't matter." I blushed.

"So where are everyone else?" I asked.

"They all just left to go to the fireworks," he said. "I decided to stay. It wouldn't be fun without you."

"Wait," I said, getting up. "We can go-"

"No," He replied firmly. "I'm your healer, and Chiron and Mr. D don't know. You'd be in the infirmary, and I know you hate that place." I grimaced, remembering the uncomfortably stiff mattresses. It just wasn't a lived-in place.

"Yeah, thanks," I replied. "But we can still watch them from here, right?" He frowned.

"Well, the forest is blocking our view," he said.

"Not if we're on the roof," I stood up again despite his protests. "Come with me." I walked up to the wall and looked for the small scallop shape in the wall. Conor looked at me like I was insane.

"What are you doing?" He asked. I found what I was looking for, and pressed the mark on the wall. The wall disappeared and an empty hallway showed up. Conor looked at me.

"How did you find this place?" He asked.

"If I told you the truth, I'd have to kill you," I said seriously. He laughed and said,

"Well, ladies first."

"Scaredy cat," I muttered, and started to go up the stairs. I got up three whole stairs before I fell backwards, about to fall on my butt. But Conor saved me, picking me up as if I was 5 pounds and walking up the stairs with me. He opened the trapdoor at the top and revealed the roof. I guess it was magic or something, because there was furniture that you couldn't see from the outside. There were a couple of hammocks, a ping pong table, and a nice swinging couch. Conor lay me down on the couch, and sat next to where my head was. I stood up a bit and rested my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me instinctively.

"So I never got to congratulate you on your win yesterday," he murmured in my ear. I laughed, ignoring the chills running down my spine. Sure, I wasn't positive if this was a date or not, but regardless, he was still my best friend. That wouldn't change at all, even if everything else did.

"That's true. But you don't have to: I know you're sore about losing," I teased back. He made a look of joking offensiveness.

"Excuse me, I am a very gracious loser. And besides, I won't be a loser for long," his smirk grew wider. "We'll get you next time."

"Dream on," I replied, and listened to the chirps of the birds. I loved this feeling: the humid air all around you, the relaxing hum of the crickets chirping. It made me feel revitalized. "So, for the fireworks, are they going to do anything special this year?" I looked right into Conor's eyes, noticing a patch of dark blue in his left eye that I never saw before. He looked back at me, and we stayed transfixed for a second. Then he seemed to fall out of a daze, and answered my question.

"Yeah, they're doing a big thing about the war. They've decided to reenact the old titan war- you know, the time when the gods took over everything. And then they said that there would be something to commemorate all of the people who've died so far in the war, but they didn't really go into great detail about that." I nodded, biting my lip. "What are you thinking about?" He asked curiously.

"Nothing- it's just that," I sighed. "Two months ago, I didn't even know all this was happening. What if-" I stopped, hesitating. "What if I could've come here earlier? What if I helped earlier, go on missions- what would be different? What if so many people didn't-" I felt a light pressure on my lips, stopping my onrush of words. It was quickly gone.

"I'm sorry," he immediately said, blushing. "I-" I pressed my lips back to his, loving the rush it gave me. I felt it in my toes, and my heart grew insanely big, like that feeling you get when you finally feel the exhilaration from a big drop. "Don't be," I responded between kisses. A loud whine filled the air, and a pop signaled the first fireworks of the fourth of July. I bit his lip accidentally from shock, and he laughed, pulling me closer to him. We watched as the fireworks created pictures in the sky, telling a story that Conor whispered in my ear. And it was basically the best fourth of july I ever had.

AWWWW :) I don't know, maybe it's because Im writing about them, BUT I LOVE ARI AND CONOR. But I'm running out of ideas, so PLEASE REVIEW? Thank you X.


	15. Chapter 15

**So, unless I'm secretly Rick Riordan (which I highly doubt, but is still possible), I don't own any of the characters from PJATO. **

**Hey guys! So to make up for all of the days that I haven't uploaded, I made an especially long chapter. Enjoy :)**

As the weeks passed and the oncoming war came closer, tensions in the camp became more and more strained. Percy left a couple of days after the 4th of July: he just wanted to spend some time at his house with his mom. Which I totally understood: I mean, I would too, if I was him.

The problem was that, with him gone, I was expected to take his place. And those are pretty big shoes to fill. I took up all of his chores, taught all of his sword fighting lessons, and took his guard shift as well as my own. Basically, it sucked.

Conor and I found less and less time together. He had his responsibilities, and I had mine, and they never seemed to coincide. The only time I was ever alone with him was during the free time, and even that was rare.

At the same time, though, I was kind of relieved. The nightmares came back, and I knew that if somebody like Conor would look closer, they would see something wrong. So I stayed away from him, from Annabeth, even Silena. And instead I became immersed in this bubble.

When the Stolls relieved me of duty at 11, I was exhausted. I stumbled to the cabin and jumped right into bed without even changing into my pajamas, and fell into a deep and uneasy sleep.

I was in the middle of a vast plain that I didn't recognize. Soot was everywhere, showering the area in a thin layer of black. Ash still hung in the air, creating a dark shadow around everything. In the distance, there was a huge mountain. Lava ominously poured out of the volcano and oozed everywhere.

"Arielle Waters," a voice rumbled evilly. Chills ran down my spine. I knew it came from somewhere in the volcano. "You have finally found refuge. I advise that you enjoy it while you still can. Because soon, all that you know will change." I wanted to scream, to ask the voice who in the hades he thought he was. The voice chuckled. "You are weak. An unworthy opponent. But nevertheless, a threat. Shall I give you a peek of what's to come?" My vision became distorted: then I saw him. Conor. He was staring at me from a ten foot distance, his face oddly innocent. A gash went all down his leg, cutting it right down to the bone. He mouthed words that I couldn't interpret, and then he fell. I didn't realize I was screaming until the voice brought me back to the plain. "See how quickly your spirits can be crushed, child?" The deep voice rumbled in a sickening laugh, and I felt ashes get into my eyes and throat, choking me and causing me to go blind. And all the while, the volcano's voice creepily laughed.

I woke up screaming, and I found I still couldn't breathe. I collapsed to the ground, curling up in fetal position. What's worse is that I couldn't say it was just a nightmare. Because demigods don't get nightmares: they get weird premonitions. And this is what was going to happen to Conor. I knew it. I looked at the clock: 4:00. Even Conor wouldn't be up this early. After quickly changing into a new tank top and jean shorts, I ran out of the cabin without even putting on sneakers.

I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I was doing something right as soon as I felt the cool water between my toes. I dove headfirst into the water and swam.

When I resurfaced, I couldn't recognize anything around me. However, I knew from instinct that I was just off the coast of South Carolina. I was wondering why I teleported here before I heard the steady beating of a motor. I turned to my right and saw a huge ship.

It was one of those yachts that you see in the harbor. Those absolutely giant ones that belong to multibillionaires and costs more than the frickin hope diamond. There were people everywhere, and an ominous haze settled around it. But I could still see the familiar inscription The SS Cassiopeia on the hull.

Swimming closer to it, I realized why I recognized it: the ship was one of Kronos'. Last time, at the counsel meeting, we went over all of the known ships and locations of Kronos' army. The SS Cassiopeia was 2nd largest only to the Princess Andromeda, and not by a whole lot.

I cautiously swam to the side of the boat, making sure that nobody noticed me. I looked at my shirt: thankfully, I changed into a tank top instead of my camp half blood t-shirt, so that I could blend easily with all of the other traitor demigods. I cautiously willed the water to let me onto a small corner of the ship, where thankfully I couldn't be spotted. I ducked even further into the darkness when I heard the slithering of a snake on the floor.

"Will we arrive ssssssoon?" A female voice whispered, exaggerating the s. I almost wanted to gag as I saw what had to be two of the ugliest women I have ever seen. They wore regular shirts, but their face was contorted to a snake like appearance. And I know that they say that it's about the personality and not the looks, but something's telling me that their personalities weren't much prettier.

"Yessssss," the other one crooned. "I heard that we'll be at Long Island by nightfall. Thosssse demigods won't susssssspect a thing." Wait- Long Island? Then it hit me: the ship was going to invade camp.

A sense of protectiveness surged over me: I had to stop them. There was no way that they were going to go and hurt anybody I care about.

The dracaenae slithered away on their disgusting snake legs and I could almost hear the gears whirring in my head. What was I going to do? I checked my pockets only to find a bit of lint in them. My bracelet, however, still shone on my wrist, which gave me a lot of comfort. If I could face a Cyclops with this sword and survive, than I could annihilate this ship and live to go back to camp. A voice nagged in the back of my head, telling me that the only reason that I didn't die last time was because Conor and Percy and Annabeth rescued me, but I quickly ignored the thought and walked out of the darkness.

The ship, I discovered, was even larger than I expected it to be. On the deck, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of monsters and demigods. They all were practicing something: what looked like sending projectile venom at camp half blood dummies, or stabbing the same dummies with wickedly sharp blades. I swallowed loudly and took a deep breath, glad that I was too lazy to find a clean camp shirt.

"Hey!" I heard a voice say behind me. I whirled around, jumping slightly. A girl not much older than me glared at me. She seemed like a classic cheerleader stereotype, with her straight blonde hair and glossy lips. But that didn't fool me: I could see that her legs were weird: one was hairy like she didn't shave for 1000 years, and the other was a shiny bronze color. "You demigods are in charge of the Engine room, right?" I could only nod. "Well, why did I go down there to find that it was completely empty! What if something happened, and the whole ship sank?" I could only stare at her. She rolled her eyes and looked at her nails. "Just go and take watch, demigod, before I set the hellhounds on you." She stared pointedly at a large group of black dogs sleeping in the corner. One of them gave a menacing growl in their sleep.

"Yes, of course," I said, and ran past her and down the closest flight of stairs. To my right, I noticed that there was a huge window from which you could see the water. I turned to the left instead, walking down the hallway while plotting my destruction of the ship. This was almost too perfect: the Engine room was the best place to destroy the ship. The only source of light came from jars of greek fire. I passed the doors, reading every single one of them until I found it. Creaking the door open, I found that the girl was right: the engine room was completely vulnerable. I walked around, trying to take everything in. The sound of the machines were deafening, and I noticed that there was a definite increase in temperature in here. I took out my sword, ready to take on anyone who came down here. How could I sink the ship without going down with it? I walked up to the main machine. It was a nasty thing, with a gazillion buttons. Beckendorf, the head counselor of Hephaestus cabin, would know what to do. He would be so much more useful right now than me. I was about to try my luck by pressing ten buttons when a creak by the door almost gave me a heart attack.

A boy walked in, maybe a little younger than me. His brown eyes were already hard, and I could tell he's been through a lot.

"Hey, I don't recognize you," he frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm new," I lied. "One of the empousai told me to come down here."

"But I thought that there wasn't any new demigods?" He said it like a question.

"Well, I am," I responded nervously. "Come on, I don't want someone to come downstairs and think we're plotting to sink the ship or anything." Nice going, Arielle. I walked past him, about to get out of the door, when he stopped me. I immediately hit him on the head with my sword, and he crumbled to the ground without even making a noise. Maybe I shouldn't have hit so hard, I thought to myself. Oh well. I went down the hallway, thinking of what I should do instead of my failed attempt at breaking the engine. Then it hit me. I took out my sword and smashed the closest jar of greek fire on the walls. I automatically heard an alarm sound through the ship. I frantically sprinted down the hall, cracking open all of the jars I could reach. I heard voices sound around me, but I ignored them. I eventually reached the vast window of glass.

"Stop!" a voice behind me said. I whirled around to see the girl who told me to come downstairs. She wasn't alone: a large crowd of monsters and demigods alike joined her. "Who are you?" She sneered.

"Whoa, I'm sinking your ship and you don't even know who I am? I'm offended," I said. I saw with satisfaction that the greek fire was beginning to burn through the walls of the hallway, quickly burning everything. I felt the pressure of the water on the window nearby: the sea was calling. "You don't need to know my name, demon," I spat. "Just know that you're going to lose this war. Have fun in Tartarus." I pressed my fingers to the window and it shattered into a million pieces under the pressure of the water. I ignored the lacerations that I knew I would get and automatically thought of home: of the hill with Peleus sleeping as he guarded the fleece, of the spot where the campfires burned bright as we sang crazy songs. And I was sent back to Camp Half Blood.

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to review :)**


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